DEFINITELY, huh? Wow, you can see the future And no kidnappings happen to top players in Europe. Nice scenery in the US? Yikes.
Im just saying, the potential of the sport in this country is huge, not to mention the power they can have attracting the biggest players in the world to finish off their career here, which many leagues around the world fail to do. With the money that is passed around as far as revenue goes, MLS can make decent cash and get good players to make this league and this country better. And sooner or later once the older guys(matched with young fresh talent here in the US) who still have potential play, match, or beat mexican/ south american teams then fresh South American talent will see this country/league is attractive, maybe more so than mexico based on the lifestyle, food, cities, etc. You dont see the luxury or coming to one of the big cities in the US? Hell even Seattle, Any city in California? Fact of the matter, is the US is a great country for one to immigrate/ retire/ live in. Ask Jurgen Klinssman, he 'retired' to california, and loves the state. Do you live in the States?
When you have the most billionaires in the world in your country, of course any sport can have potential. But can the MLS generate enough interest to make it a destination for some of the best players in the world in their prime? The quality of life is not an issue in the US obviously. Let's not forget that some of these players have huge egos. Why would they want to leave a European country where they are seen as gods to play in the US where they'll be second tier athletes behind LeBron James, Alex Rodriguez, and Tom Brady? Have you guys seen how ESPN (the same channel who broadcasts the Champions League) takes shots at the sport?
I remember reading an interview with Henry and he said that's exactly the reason that he likes the states so much. That he can go anywhere without being bothered and he can just live a normal life. Of course if he goes to somewhere like NYC I'm sure he'll be getting recognized a lot as well.
I think they would miss the recognition they receive over there. But I didn't look at it that way, maybe they could make it work to their advantage. Soccer will never surpass or get into the top three sports in this country. At the moment hockey is probably in fourth place here in the States. How much coverage does it receive? Not much.
I really dont think they'd miss that celebrity lifestyle as much, they'd have privacy, go ask LA celebrities and how their lives stink as if they are living in boxes with everyone watching. Its perfectly comparable to hockey, or even baseball to a lesser extent, how many hockey players from your state can you say o shit thats 'XXX'?? Ovechkin is a god in DC around me, but i have yet to even know what he looks like. My buddies saw him at a restaurant once and stated how normal the guy was acting (although i hear hes a stuck up prick). Personally i think this country is perfect for a sport on par with hockey. They have die hard fans, but their stars arent 'THAT' big, unless say wayne gretzkey(sp).... but you get what i mean.
I still don't think the owners would be down with spending all that dough on a sport that is on par with hockey when it comes to average fan interest. We're talking about making the MLS one of the top leagues in the world, and that doesn't come free. You think Thierry Henry or Christiano Ronaldo would take a big paycut just to get some privacy? I doubt it. I guess we have to agree to disagree.
No no, i never meant it like that. They'd get aging stars that still are in their semi'prime, they wont get teh Ronaldos in their early 20s, or any of the big big stars that are already that.....STARS! What i see them getting, is good older guys that are already established, and young up and coming south american youth that arent ready just yet to make the leap to Europe (sorta like mexico), and will come to play and get paid. Then use the MLS as a springboard for Europe more so EPL but i see la liga buying more players given how well Altidore is turning out.
Wrong, Mexico has had South Americans of good quality long before we participated in the Copa Libertadores For Example Chile Carlos Reinoso, Osvaldo Castro, Marco Antonio Figueroa,Miguel Ramirez, Fabian Estay, Ivo Basay, Claudio Núñez Paraguay Hugo Kiesse, Ruben Ruiz Diaz, Julio Cesar Yegros, José Cardozo from Ecuador Ítalo Estupiñán, Alex Aguinaga, Ivan Hurtado, Tin Delgado from Argentina Hector Miguel Zelada, Mauro Camoranesi, Antonio Mohammed, Juan Antonio Pizzi, Dario Franco, Eduardo Berizzo, Jorge Comas Brazil Amaral, Antonio Carlos Santos, Dirceu, Muricy Ramalho, Cabinho Peru Juan José Muñante,Gerónimo Barbadillo, Juan Carlos Oblitas, Roberto Palacios, Juan Reynoso Uruguay Róbert Siboldi, Juan Ramón Carrasco, Nery Castillo Sr.
The champions and runners up have to go to the Concacaf Champions League (required by concacaf) The top 3 point getters who are not in the CCL would then probably go to the Libertadores. No more interliga, 2010 is the last year of the contract.
the problem with that is then you have better teams going to a lesser tournament. Can't they just get rid of the CCL? Or have it be some kind of feeder tourney for Libertadores? Or maybe merge the two?
I spoke to an agent for European-based players last year and he said that aging players who can no longer cut it in European top flight leagues have two options if they want to continue earning seven figures: Dubai (or one of the Emirates), or the U.S. They say most don't want to go to the Gulf because it's boring in terms of nightlife, etc. Plus most speak English (or Spanish) already so the language barrier is less of an issue.
No. Not now. Maybe not ever. First you'll need something akin to the UEFA Champions League (or something that can compete with it). It's at least a generation or two down the line. If that.
and hockey is still way ahead of MLS. So is NASCAR and probably tennis. Probably some others I'm forgetting.
True, i agree with you there. But still Mexico has always been able to pay well, and many players chose to go to mexico for the money and security, while many never left mexico until recently mexico is finally seen as a good league to take players from, like spain picking players from here, i am guessing from more television exposure. South Americans came for $$$ and with the MLS one day they too will be able to do the same, i am not putting down mexico rather looking at them as the model to follow for the MLS, with their tv rights, money, jerseys, players, etc. MLS is taking a couple pages from their book. Thats how it is now with the DP rule, as you say players are willing to come to the US because of the money, which is good cause we can still lure players with stuff left in the tank, and have them here instead of going back to their home countries like brasil and argentina and still being competitive. Nascar isnt a sport. And tennis isnt all that comparable, cause it isnt like a league of tennis players.
Honestly, the gloss wasnt that glossy. As the now famous San Diego Union article on MLS attendance-inflated numbers from 06 points out, the numbers at the new SSS may have been intentionally more inflated by teams to make it appear that there was a gloss. The interior teams (ones not within 50 miles of coast + Chicago) never really had much potential. The best we could hope from them would be 16k average. Big teams like Seattle, TFC, and LA are gonna pay other teams' bills, especially ones with SSS who come to rely more and more on the cash from hosting non-MLS events. The rationale for these teams existing is regional representation. Missouri does not need another team. Yes, there are teams on the coasts struggling also (NY & SJ). What works for the coasts will not work for the interior. So just bring in Thierry Henry, you say? Even his presence would wear off 2 or 3 years later. Why? Answer: because MLS cant exist in a bubble and expect just good play to bring out the fans. It needs to continue to "make a mark" on the international scene. The only scene we have had was DC United in Copa Sudamericana (please dont respond with Concacaf champions league...no one watches it, and it neither inspires MLS of FMF teams). Let's hope MLS can get back in this summer. We also need a little luck too. Not on the field, that goes w/out saying. We also need some TV coverage (say, perhaps ESPN giving it a try since they have very little soccer left). Those ingredients of luck would go miles.
Why does people keep bringing "MLS teams in the InterLiga"? Isn't InterLiga about to dissappear anyway?
Not necessarily. There's a preference for European soccer in the US, but I dont see why Libertadores isnt bigger on TV. Perhaps Euro soccer is big in US as a result of it being on ESPN. Could Espn end up with Libertadores? There might be a cultural issue too. I mean 70 percent of N. Americans descend from Europeans. Perhaps Lib should market hard in Hispanic US market too. This is obviously related to alot of other issues. Another one being the way Brazilian soccer is organized (favoring small clubs at the expense of the big). Recent news articles make is clear that big Brazilian clubs would make more money by playing only among themselves in a change similar to what English soccer went through with the formation of Premier league in 92. Maybe they could expand the market by inviting 2 MLS teams (CBA changes after current season should allow for a few superclubs in MLS), and pushing hard for entry into Asian market, while marketing more in Europe during summer. Push back LIB by 3 weeks so that final 16 stage occupy most of summer- after UEFA tournies. Once the exposure of LIB is much higher, then players may give equal weight to whether they want to play at home or in europe.
Libertadores turns off many because of the ignored exposure on Fox Soccer Channel. I garuntee you if they forced them to watch the games in english then they would get to know the tournament better whether they liked it or not. Why do you think americans follow the EPL so hard? Just like south americans to copa libertadores, they speak the language and can read about all the gossip and stuff first hand since its all in english. South america turns them off cause the main language is spanish. But if the MLS did start participating regularly in the copa libertadores, i garuntee you fox soccer channel the english version would pick up the games, broadcast hard core in english, and win over american fans in the process. How much? I dont know, but i know alot of people were following the concacaf champ. league on BS, and MLS teams didnt make it out the first round!
Do you guys think South American clubs would allow CONMEBOL to expand it to more teams though? There are many who want this to be an all South American tournament already. I know many would see travel as a big issue if MLS teams somehow get in. Imagine a team from Argentina having to travel to the States to play DC United on a weekday?